Gardening for / with youngsters
Posted by Seamus | January 5th, 2012 | 0 Comments
Typically when someone mentions children and gardens in the same sentence, images of rampaging hyperglycaemic toddlers spring to mind, and visions of children wantonly destroying anything with chlorophyll that might lie between them and the next exciting objective. This is a little like a golden retriever I know when someone accidentally throws his ball into the agapanthus. Fortunately children and gardens are more compatible than people think.
Somewhere between crawling and young adulthood, children’s understanding of nature begins to take root in their consciousness. Whether they live on farms or in the inner city, they come to understand the precepts of 21st century living: that food comes from shops; relationships and human interaction happen inside; while plants, soil and weather happen outside. The fantastic thing about a garden, be it a sprawling estate or a few pots on a balcony, is that it’s an opportunity for small children to interact with and learn from nature, without the dangers that accompany a completely wild ecosystem .
If you’re worried about your prize rose bush collection or those exquisite tulips you smokkeled in from a faraway place in your carry-on, then consider this: instead of desperately trying to keep your children away from delicate plants using fences, bribery, threats, shock collars etc., try to engage them more with your garden. This has worked for me in the past because children are naturally curious and respond well to sensual stimulation (mainly touch and smell in a garden). If something is delicate, then show the child how delicate it is using touch – in the same way you might introduce a child to a kitten. The main difference between children and ball-obsessed golden retrievers is that children can learn beauty (touch, smell and colour) from adults, and learn why dad’s bonsai is not well-suited to being a strategic launching point for GI Joes. It sounds far-fetched but it does work. Children can be exquisitely delicate if they understand how a plant feels and what makes a plant sore.
Child-friendly plants are another way of drawing children into a garden and allowing them to engage with it instead of avoiding or destroying it. Plants with edible parts are an excellent option. Typically you’d aim for plants that grow quickly and can be harvested on an ad-hoc basis with obvious, above-ground parts. Examples include cherry tomatoes (lots of small fruits are better than fewer, patience-testing large fruit), rocket, and herbs such as basil and chives (interesting strong tastes). Introducing children to gardening nature isn’t a quick thing – but have fun doing it before the ineviatable electronic attractions pull them back inside…
Tags: child friendly plants;, Gardening for kids, teaching kids about gardening
